With hundreds and thousands of products popping up in the market every year, the need for good packaging has also become a priority in most of the manufacturers' minds. The packaging industry is growing extremely fast, with competitors showing up left, right and center. With sustainability becoming a core part of the developing world, along with taking care of the environmental issues, the packaging industry is also consistently evolving to meet the demands. Companies that are catering to these needs are working on innovating to replace plastic packaging and bringing in biodegradable products that will help protect our planet. This is happening because people are now aware of the impact non biodegradable waste like plastic and metal are having on our environment. The global packaging market is divided into North America, Europe, APAC, South America, the Middle East and Africa.
It is also important to note that the package of any product is the first interaction that brand is having with their customers. This can either be turned into something completely in the brand's favor, or leave a negative impact on the client. By giving them a packaging experience they will remember, the brand's identity can be strengthened. This generation is one that puts everything on social media, and one favorable experience can turn into a large number of sales for a brand. Now brands are focusing equally on the product, and the way they package their products, knowing that their customers are equally excited by both. Especially since COVID-19 hit the world, and in person shopping became extremely limited, it was online shopping that brought these brands back. All online shopping was shipped to customers in some sort of packaging to maintain the quality of the product inside. Meanwhile, home deliveries became more popular, especially in the food sector, since restaurants and big offices were closed. When people were working from home, they wanted to get their food delivered to them. because of which the demand for packaged containers and cartons increased massively. Online grocery shopping also became a huge part of daily lives globally. When the pandemic hit, consumer behaviors were intensely affected and so was the packaging industry. It was one of the industries that wasn't shut down during the lockdown situation globally.
When companies decided to turn eco-friendly, some big brands also decided that it was time. Coca Cola (NYSE: KO) wanted to shift to a more sustainable lifestyle and thus decided to test paper bottles from an extra-strong paper shell consisting of a thin plastic liner. They experimented with approximately 2000 bottles to see if their theory worked, in February 2021. Other examples include Nestlé, who aim to turn all their packaging into such that is either paper based or recyclable/reusable by the year 2025. "The global packaging market value is approximately $1,015 billion, calculated on the value of finished products. "The estimated annual growth rate during 2021-2026 is on average +4%.", as reported by Metsa.
According to Technavio, the global packaging market may increase by around $223.96 billion between 2022 to 2027 at a CAGR of 3.92%. Further data suggests that there will be global expansion in the packaging market, and developing markets like Asia will see more packaged consumer goods due to an increase in real income. Based on this report, Asia is the largest market for packaged goods followed by North America. The packaging trends for the future include majority companies switching from the biggest packaging material used, plastic, to more biodegradable products such as plant-based packaging, made from hemp, coconut and even sugarcane. This is why many of the biggest packaging companies in the world make sure that the focus is one their sustainable packaging efforts, as demonstrated by Amcor (NYSE: AMCR), whose CEO mentioned in the company's Q4 2022 earnings call "And finally, sustainability is fundamental to everything we do from an innovation perspective and remains at the forefront of discussions with global brand owners. As the sustainability leader in the packaging industry, we continue to be the supplier of choice to help our customers achieve their goals in a meaningful way and at scale."
Apart from being environmentally friendly, sustainable packaging practices are also considered to be an affordable option for companies. Another trend that already exists is customized packaging. As mentioned above, brands are making a lot of efforts to make sure their potential customers are aware of the brand, and also remember them. So making sure that the packaging is attractive and provides a good user experience is very important for them now. With the need for packaging growing globally, the packaging industry is slowly becoming one of the biggest industries in the world and is fundamentally important to many other industries.
Methodology
To find out the 15 biggest packaging companies in the world, we have used the official statistics published by Yahoo! Finance, considering their market cap and TTM revenue. We then ranked them according to both these criteria, and used those numbers to calculate the average ranking. We then listed them based on average ranking in "lowest to highest" order. Hence, we now take a look at the biggest packaging companies in the world, starting with number 15:
Market Cap as at 2 March 2023: $7.57 Billion
TTM as at 2 March 2023: $9.63 Billion
Graphic Packaging Holding company (NYSE:GPK) is one of the largest providers of paperboard and integrated paperboard packaging solutions to some of the world's most popular brands. They manufacture paperboard, foodservice packaging, folding cartons, microwave cooking solutions and packaging machinery. They are head quartered in Atlanta and have been operational since 1991.
Market Cap as at 2 March 2023: $7.56 Billion
TTM as at 2 March 2023: $13.98 Billion
Berry Global (NYSE:BERY) is an American company based in Evansville, Indiana, United States. They are one of the industry leaders of the packaging market, and create innovative consumer packaging products. They are extremely committed to being sustainable and environmentally friendly. They are located in 265+ locations around the world and are part of the biggest packaging companies in the world.
Market Cap as at 2 March 2023: $11.25 Billion
TTM as at 2 March 2023: $9.761 Billion
Beginning their journey in the 1935, Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) is a Fortune 500 company that deals with roofing, insulation and fiber glass composites. They are located in 31 countries around the world and ae constantly evolving to meet the needs of an ever changing market. Sustainability is a core strategy of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC).
Market Cap as at 2 March 2023: $11.91 Billion
TTM as at 2 March 2023:$8.478 Billion
One of the largest companies for containerboard and corrugated packaging in the U.S., Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG)has been in business for over 150 years. They have made it to Newsweek magazine’s 2023 list of “America’s Most Responsible Companies” — for the 4th consecutive year. Apart from their main production, they also cater to technical, e-commerce, design, display and graphic sales solutions.
Market Cap as at 2 March 2023: $3.90 Billion
TTM as at 2 March 2023: $1.681 Billion
With their head quarters in Tokyo, Japan, Oji Holdings Corporation manufactures pulp paper and products made from this raw material. Some of their products include containerboard, corrugated container, folding cartons, packaging papers, boxboard, paper bags, as well as household products. They have been operational since 1873 and is one of the biggest packaging companies in the world.
Market Cap as at 2 March 2023: $10.57 Billion
TTM as at 2 March 2023: $12.943 Billion
Based in Pennsylvania, USA, Crown Holdings (NYSE:CCK) is reputable globally for being a leading supplier in packaging products. They design, manufacture and supply products like beverage cans, transit packaging, aerosol cans, glass bottles, amongst a whole array of products. Founded in 1892, they have plants in 40 countries around the world.
Market Cap as at 2 March 2023: $9.35 Billion
TTM as at 2 March 2023: $11.68 Billion
Based out of Helsinki, Finland, Stora Enso is one of the biggest providers of reneweable materials like formed fiber, bio composites, paperboard materials, corrugated packaging solutions, wood foam, market pulp and pellets, along with multiple other products. They came into existence in 1998 and have become a dominant player in the packaging world.
Market Cap as at 2 March 2023: $13.72 Billion
TTM as at 2 March 2023: $9.039 Million
Founded in 1935, Avery Dennison Corp (NYSE:AVY) is a multinational company that deals with the manufacture and distribution of pressure sensitive materials. Fasteners, tickets and RFID are important products of the company. They are currently based in Ohio, and are also a Fortune 500 company, based in more than 50 countries worldwide. Their global scale and huge experience gives them quite an edge over a majority of other companies, and hence makes them one of the biggest packaging companies in the world.
Market Cap as at 2 March 2023: $9.21 Billion
TTM as at 2 March 2023: $14.06 Billion
With production across 46 countries, Smurfit Kappa is one of the largest packaging companies in the world, especially in Europe. Their focus on being sustainable and eco friendly has led them to collaborate with universities and do their own R&D as well to make sure they are delivering environmentally friendly and innovative products. Not only are their products eco friendly, but so are their processes of production. They are number 1 in Europe for making corrugated packaging.
Market Cap as at 2 March 2023: $7.28 Billion
TTM as at 2 March 2023: $21.227 Million
With their head quarters in Atlanta, United States of America, WestRock (NYSE:WRK) deals with paper and packaging solutions. Their vision is to "Innovate boldly, package sustainably." Founded in 2015, WestRock (NYSE:WRK) is a fairly new company. However, they have managed to build more than 320 manufacturing facilities, research labs, sales offices and design centers globally. Their products include folding cartons, kraft paper, pulp, corrugated containers amongst many other things.
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Disclosure: None. 15 biggest packaging companies in the world originally published at Insider Monkey.
